By Vivem Soriano
Eagle News Service
The La Salle Green Archers on Sunday dealt the Ateneo Blue Eagles their first loss in Season 80 of the UAAP, denying their arch-rivals an automatic spot in the finals.
Ben Mbala had a monster game, scoring 28 points, pulling down 18 rebounds and adding 6 steals and 6 blocks to power the De La Salle Green Archers to a come-from-behind 79-76 win.
Ateneo was aiming for a sweep of the elimination round and an automatic finals berth but La Salle was in no mood in giving their archrivals an easy shortcut to the championship.
The Blue Eagles started strong, limiting their archrivals’ star player and import Mbala to just 2 points in the first quarter. Ateneo led La Salle 22-17 at the end of the 1st.
But Mbala showed why he is considered the best collegiate player in the country, scoring 13 points and playing superb defense to lead La Salle to a 37-35 halftime lead.
Ateneo responded with a strong 3rd quarter, outplaying and outscoring La Salle 28-17 with Ateneo star Thirdy Ravena leading the team’s scorers with 10 points in the quarter.
The Blue Eagles seemed headed to their second season win over their archrivals and completing a season sweep.
But Ricci Rivero exploded for 12 points during the 4th quarter and led La Salle in erasing an 11-point Ateneo lead in the final canto.
La Salle captured the lead over Ateneo, 77-76, with just less than a minute left after a sweet jumper by guard Kid Montalbo.
Center Isaac Go had a chance to regain the lead for the Blue Eagles but the big man missed a point-blank shot down low.
Rivero then converted 2 free throws in the next possession to seal the win for the defending champions.
Mbala led all La Salle scorers with 28 points. Rivero added 21 markers.
Ravena meanwhile was the scoring leader for Ateneo with 15 points. Go added 13 while sharpshooter Matt Nieto contributed 12 points.
La Salle will now battle Adamson in the Final Four which starts on Saturday. Ateneo meanwhile will play against the Far Eastern University in the other semis matchup.
La Salle and Ateneo will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage over their opponents for finishing atop the standings. Despite the loss, Ateneo will finish as the number one team at 13-1 while La Salle ends up in second with a 12-2 card.
Quarter scores: 17-22, 20-13, 17-28, 25-13.
